From 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Friday year-round, you can drop off your fruit and vegetable scraps for composting at the W. 97th Street Greenmarket. An incredible 17% of NYC's institutional and residential garbage is food scraps. And much of that 17% can be turned back into soil via the simple act of composting. It is an idea whose day has come, but you have to be somewhat organized about it. In the summer months, this means storing your kitchen scraps in the frig or freezer until you can get to Friday's Greenmarket; this will keep the stink factor down.GrowNYC has guidelines and more information here.But in a nutshell, here's what you can bring:Fruit and vegetable scraps, non-greasy food scraps like rice, pasta, bread, cereal etc., coffee grounds & filters, tea bags, egg and nut shells, pits, cut or dried flowers, houseplants and potting soil. Here's what NOT to bring:Meat, chicken, fish, greasy food scraps, fat, oil, dairy, animal waste, litter or bedding, coal or charcoal, coconuts, diseased and/or insect-infested houseplants or biodegradable plastics.To see more details about our nearby locations or learn about other drop-off points in the city, please see this link.In addition to taking a big chunk out of garbage collection, composting produces nutrient-rich soil that the City can used to nourish our street trees and our parks. One day, composting will be like recycling; it will become a reflex for anyone in Manhattan. And we will feel as if we've been doing this all our lives.Addendum on 7/18: The New York Times has a good piece on how buildings are promoting the collection of organic waste here.By Caitlin Hawke